Grace Baptist Santa Clarita: Service Podcast

As Jesus leaves Temple Mount His statement of destruction elicits grave concern and questions from the disciples. In response, we are given the longest teaching section in the Gospel of Mark from the lips of Jesus. This chapter has long been a challenge to students of the Bible. Over the next three weeks we will try to unravel the points Jesus makes and attempt to stay focused on His main point: Be ready now! The area of study known as “Last Things” is both exciting and filled with challenges. But by far the biggest challenge is to realize that the main object of studying the future is learning better how to live in the present. In this chapter we will see that Jesus begins and ends with a very simple theme: Be prepared now for what the future will bring. Be prepared now to stand strong in times of persecution, and be ready now to be found by the Savior faithfully living for Him when He comes in power and glory.

Having answered all the questions of His religious opponents, Jesus now turns the tables and goes on the offensive. First He confronts their erroneous theology: they do not have a true understanding of the divine Son of God. Then He shows how, in their promotion of a corrupt religious system, they consistently do not love God nor their neighbor. In this text we see the last public teaching of our Savior, as well as His denouncement of the hypocritical religious system that the religious leaders of the day have established. He predicts severe judgment and, as is true every time Israel comes under judgment from God, the weightiest evidence is her unwillingness to take care of the least in the community: orphans and widows. The picture of the widow here is used by Jesus to demonstrate just how far the religion of Israel has fallen. Instead of protecting and providing for this destitute woman, they have promoted a religious system that willingly takes from her all she has to live on. In closing Jesus declares th

Ten years ago when the airplanes crashed into the World Trade Towers in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington DC, so much changed in our lives. The security we took for granted was shattered. The threat of terrorism on our soil became a daily concern even as we realized how truly vulnerable we were to those willing to die to harm us. But beyond even these life-altering realizations, the greatest consequence of 9/11 was that we came face to face with the evil that can reside in the heart of man. All of this left us with the lingering fear that things would never be the same again. Today we look back, but not in order to remind ourselves of the tragedy. Today we want to better understand how hope can be found in the midst of such horrible circumstances. Perhaps the greatest lesson learned from 9/11 is that, while these kinds of events will certainly be a part of our world’s reality, they in no way can eclipse the peace and hope we can have in God through Jesus Christ our Lord. In each of these kinds of

Having turned back all His opponents’ arguments, Jesus now engages in a sincere discourse with an intelligent Scribe. The question posed asks what is at the core of God’s will for mankind. What commandment is the most important? To this Jesus gives a simple and profound answer: Love God, and Love your neighbor.  When the Scribe agrees and even insists that this love from the heart is more important than religious ritual, Jesus declares that he is “not far from the Kingdom of God.” But is being close good enough? Mark leaves that question for us to answer today.

Following His passionate upheaval of the commercial activities that had taken over the Court of the Gentiles, Jesus is confronted by those whose interests He has stepped on. The religious leaders of that day set about to trap Jesus in three areas: personal (11:27-12:12), political (12:13-17), and theological (12:18-27). But Jesus' opponents have once again severely underestimated the King of Heaven. Using divine wisdom and the Scriptures, Jesus not only disarms the traps set for Him but also brings the discussion pointedly to greater spiritual concerns. And the points Jesus makes are as important for us today as they were back in their original setting.

As we jump back into Mark’s story of Jesus we find ourselves on Temple Mount where Jesus endures several attempts by the religious leaders to undermine His popularity with the people. In response to their questioning of His authority, Jesus tells a story about a vineyard. The vineyard metaphor was well known by the people of Jesus’ day. Isaiah the prophet had spoken of Israel as the “vineyard of the Lord.” As Jesus began the story, it no doubt caught the attention of His listeners. But as the story continued it became evident to them that Jesus was interjecting into the story some elements that spoke powerfully against the wickedness of the Jews. In the end, Jesus offers a clear indication as to just how He intends the story to be understood. It really isn’t so much about the wicked farmers as about the rejected Son who will be restored to a place of prominence and priority.

Psalm 138, plain and simple, is a Psalm of David and a song of thanksgiving.  It’s the first Psalm in a series of 8 psalms (138-145) that would likely have been used as a personal devotional for prayer and praise for devout Israelites.  Psalm 138’s beauty pulls us to the profound link between the faithfulness of God and our attitude of thanksgiving.  It’s a song that anchors a thankful heart to God’s work in the past, the present and the future.

Scripture reveals to us that our big God has a big plan, a plan that includes the salvation of people from every “tribe and tongue and people and nation” (Rev. 5:9).  He expresses that plan not just in the New Testament, but throughout the Old Testament as well, including the Psalm before us.  We are fortunate to live in a time when His plan is being realized, and even more fortunate to be called by God to play a role in its fulfillment.  It’s hard to imagine a better way to invest your life than the one the Psalmist celebrates!

It is staggering to stop, even for a moment, and realize that the Creator of all things has blessed us as Christ followers with the opportunity to joyously engage with Him in worship, and through it to make known His salvation to a lost world.  At the end of time every knee will bow before the Lord of glory, recognizing His ultimate authority and justice, but until then the Lord seeks true worshipers, both individually and corporately, to declare His sovereign reign to people everywhere.  Psalm 96 interweaves with Psalms 93 – 100 to declare the rule of God and His coming judgment over all creation. How we make that declaration is as important as participating in it, so that in the end all glory is given to God alone.

One of the great privileges of the Christ-follower is to know the nearness of God in times of suffering, when despair can overwhelm us. In these two Psalms we follow the emotional journey of one who has experienced the sweetness of the presence of God in the good times and now is battling a feeling of being far from God. Has God turned away? Has God forsaken me? But corresponding to this descent into despair is the soul’s fight of faith by which despair is rebuked, hope is demanded, and praise helps change the focus away from circumstance to the very face of God.

The great enduring security enjoyed by Christ-followers before a holy God is the forgiveness of their sins. Yet the comfort of this forgiveness is only enjoyed by those who consider repentance a necessary discipline of the heart. Repentance stands as a door, graciously opened to us by God Himself, which leads back into the comfort of His forgiveness.

Last week in Psalm 1 we found delight in the fact that because God knows us, we can delight in righteous living. Today we come more to see just what that living looks like! In Psalm 15 the question is asked: Who lives with God? The Psalm goes on to answer the question in terms of what will be conspicuous of those who are of the household of God. And while for the Old Testament saints dwelling with God would have been understood in terms of nearness to the Temple, today it is our privilege to know that we are the Temple and that God the Spirit dwells in us. We can say that we dwell with God because of Christ to whom we have been joined through the power of the indwelling Spirit. Now it remains for us to understand just how this dwelling with God will transform our daily living. This Psalm points the way.

Introduction: Psalm 1 acts as a sort of portal into the Psalter, the collection of psalms we know as the Book of Psalms. In it we read that the righteous and the wicked are distinguishable based on their relationship to God Himself. The rest of the Psalms go on to unpack the life, actions, and attitudes of the righteous. This short “portal” declares that not only is there a conspicuous contrast between the righteous and the wicked, but this contrast is dependent upon God Himself. The contrast rests on the transformation an individual undergoes as a result of being known by God. This relationship between God and the individual is the reason that the righteous turn away from the wisdom of the world to order their lives according to God’s Word, finding great success in this life, and also the next.

We enjoy picturing Jesus as the accessible one, always ready to stop and talk and serve and heal and interact.  But in some passages, like the one we come to today, we see another side of Christ.  To those who approach Him improperly, with hard hearts and hidden agendas, He shows Himself to be stubborn and unresponsive, confrontational and dismissive.  Ultimately, He simply refuses to answer their question.  What brings Him to this point?  And how do we avoid repeating the mistakes of those who provoked this kind of response?

Perhaps few things are more mysterious – and misunderstood – than prayer, especially when we encounter what appear to be promises from God like those contained in today’s text. Can we really say we’ve ever seen mountains thrown into the sea? And is it true that, if we just believe hard enough and long enough that we’ll be able to channel the power of God, leveraging Him to do the miracles we need done? When we really think about it, we know that prayer simply can’t be just the way we get our will done in heaven; it must be the way God gets His will done on earth. Today we take a closer look at Jesus’ promises to His disciples – and to us – about prayer, and we’ll find that these verses apply to our desire to accomplish what God commands of us, no matter how difficult it may appear. When we align our wills with His heart in faith, we can be sure that His power will be at work in and through us, for His glory.

Following His triumphal entrance into Jerusalem on Sunday, Jesus and His disciples left the city to spend the night in Bethany.  On Monday, Jesus again enters the Temple complex and immediately begins a process of reformation.  Over the course of this chapter, we will see as He speaks boldly to the day’s abuses in the areas of Temple worship, prayer, and religious authority.  Today’s text finds Jesus declaring that the Temple complex was never to be devoted to the advancement of commerce, but always to humble, authentic worship of God.

In the story of Jesus’ life, the Gospel writers detail several times when He healed blindness and brought sight back to those unable to see. This isn’t a coincidence. Rather, bringing sight to the blind was one of the main things the Old Testament predicted would be true of Messiah, God’s promised “He” through whom the ravages of sin would be healed. Today we see another healing story involving blindness, and certainly Mark intended his readers to understand it in its historical significance. But after we listen to Mark, we also want to pose a question for our hearts and minds today: If our spiritual blindness is taken away, what exactly are we to see? And in answering this question, we’ll come to understand more precisely just what it means to be Christ-followers who magnify the glory of God.

After the Gospels describe the long-awaited arrival of the “He” that was promised in the Old Testament, it would be easy to assume that Scripture would draw to a close. What more could be needed?  But Christ accomplished His task in a way that was unexpected, and that left His people in need of further instruction and hope for the future.  So the rest of the New Testament describes the spread of His message, provides instruction for His people, and actually gives a glimpse of the future; a future clearly in His hands, accomplishing the goal He has had for this world since the beginning.

The first four books of the New Testament are known as the Gospels (“good news”) and detail the most important biography in all of history.  Presented in four distinct accounts, written by four different authors, intended for different audiences, and highlighting different themes, the Gospels give us the story of Jesus Christ.  Like a woven tapestry or beautiful harmony of musical instruments, the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all show the powerful picture that Jesus is the “He” of the Old Testament, the Savior and Lord.

The five “poetic” books in the Old Testament are also known as the books of Wisdom. If the historical books tell the narrative of God’s activity in creation, and specifically through Israel, and if the prophetic books tell us how God used preachers to call His people to praise and obedience, the wisdom books show us just what life was like if the people heard the prophets and walked in righteousness! Wisdom in the Old Testament sense is more than knowledge; it is the skill of righteous living. Wisdom speaks to the shape and substance of a well-managed life. It is not merely righteous knowing, but necessarily includes righteous living. As we will see, the 5 books of wisdom provide a pathway for understanding and practicing righteous living, even in a broken world.